How LUPT is calculated.
One set of prayer times for Greater London, computed from a standard astronomical model, agreed parameters, and the geographic centre of the capital.
The standard, in summary
The London Unified Prayer Timetable was agreed in 2011 by mosques and Islamic centres in London. Purpose: one timetable, observed in common, so a worshipper attending Fajr in Tower Hamlets one morning and Maghrib in Croydon the same evening reads the same schedule from the same source.
The adjustments, made explicit
Published times incorporate small, fixed adjustments so the figures remain conservative for elevation, atmospheric refraction, and travel within the M25:
- Sunrise: 3 minutes earlier than the astronomical value
- ʿAsr: 2 minutes later
- Sunset / Maghrib: 3 minutes later
- Zuhr: 5 minutes later, to avoid the zawāl window
Hijri dates
Each daily row carries the corresponding Hijri date in the Umm al-Qura calendar, as printed in the canonical spreadsheet. The site never recomputes Hijri from a different algorithm.
What is not included
LUPT publishes begin times only. Jamāʿah (congregational) times are set by individual mosques and vary by institution. Confirm with your local masjid.
Accuracy
Times are rounded to the nearest minute. Recomputing on other platforms (JavaScript, Python, etc.) can produce drift of about a minute against the canonical spreadsheet because of small differences in how trigonometric functions are implemented; this is expected.
Updates
- The timetable is reviewed annually before Ramadān.
- Daylight saving transitions (BST / GMT) are baked into the figures.
- Errata, where they occur, are published on the downloads page.